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(No Model.)

W. S. DILLON. AUTOMATIC STATION INDICATOR.

No. 486,543. Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

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llnrrnn SrATEs PATENT Cement WILLIAM S. DILLON, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO THE NORTH PACIFIC INDICATOR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,543, dated November 22, 1892.

Application filed September 14, 1.891. Serial No. 405,605. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. DILLON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon,have invented certain-new and useful Improvements in Automatic Station-Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to automatic station indicators.

The object of the invention is to produce an indicator for use on railways, more particularly on cable-railways, whereby the approaching stations may be automatically in dicated in a suitable manner to be seen from the interior of the car or other vehicle; furthermore, to produce an automatic indicator, which will designate the various streets, stations, or points of interest as the car approaches the same, and at the same time to display advertisements, and, finally, to produce a station-indicator which will accom plish the above results in a reliable, uniform, and automatic manner.

With these objects in view the invention consists, broadly, in a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a rod for operating the same by its downward or return movement, automatically-actuated mechanism for elevating the rod, and a yielding check for limiting its downward movement.

The invention further consists in a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a portion of a car-truck, the station-indicator, and the mechanism connecting the indicator with the car-truck. Fig. 2 is a detached View in end elevation of the cylinder or card-displaying device and its actuating mechanism. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the mechanism for actuating the cylinder. Fig. l is a similar view showing more clearly the construction of a bell-crank lever for imparting a vertical reciprocatory movement to the rod which actuates the cylinder, and Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the indicator-box.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the indicator box or casing, which is designed to be placed in the interior of a car or other vehicle, and A the indicator-cylinder suitably journaled in the box and having one end provided with ratchet teeth a, designed to be engaged by pawls a a carried by a lever a, pivoted within the casing.

B designates a rod pivotally attached at its upper end to the lever a and at its lower end extending below the floor of the car. At a point near the lower end of the said rod is pivotally secured one end of a lever B, the other end of which is pivoted to the sill of the car. To this leveris connected the piston-rod b of the cylinder of a pneumatic check h a spring b connecting with the lever and with the support I) of the check, serving to return the said lever to its normal position after each operation of the indicator.

C designates a bell-crank lever, journaled in suitable boxes on one of the cross-beams of the car-floor. One arm 0 of this lever is engaged by the lower end of rod B and the other arm 0 by one end of a telescopic or yielding push-bar C, the other end of the latter being pivotally attached to a pivoted hanger D, depending from a cross-beam of the car-floor, which hanger carries a pivoted drag-catch (1 adapted to yield in one direction only-that is, on the backward movement of a carwhereby to prevent any breakage of the mechanism or the operating of the indicator by such movement. The push-bar C, to which reference has been made, consists of a hollow sleeve 0 and a rod 0 working therein, a U-shaped spring 0 interposed between the free end of thesleeve and a shoulder 0 on the rod 0, serving to render the pushbar yielding, for a purpose that will presently appear.

E designates a bumper or projection placed at any suitable point on the ground, but preferably in the case of a cable railway upon the slot-rail; and the end or face that will first be presented to the drag-catch d is beveled or inclined in order that the impact between the said catch and the bumper may be as slight as possible.

The operation of the device when the car is moving in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig.1 is as follows: The drag-catch first comes in contact with the bumper E and forces the hanger, and with it the pushbar 0, backward, thus rocking the bell-crank lever C and lifting the rod B upward, and by this movement the pawls a a are lifted clear of the ratchet-teeth of cylinder A. As soon as the drag-catch has passed the bumper the spring b exerts its power and draws down the rod B, thus actuating the pawls to turn the indicatoncylinder and at the same time move the hanger back to its normal position. At this point the pneumatic check, which operates in the manner common to such devices, begins .to offer a resistance to the tension of the spring, so that the rod will be caused to move downward with a regular and uniform movement until the parts have all resumed their normal positions. The operating mechanism is thus shielded in all its movements against all sudden and violent jars, in the first place by the spring 0 which yields when the drag-catch first contacts with the bumper, and thereby guards the rod against violent upward movement; and in the second place by the pneumatic check just described. It is obvious, however, that the upward movement of the rod will not be uniform, as it will vary with the speed of the car, and, moreover, that it will be more violent than its downward movement. Owing to this fact the mechanism is so arranged that the indicator-cylinder is operated by the downward movement of the rod, so that no matter at what rate of speed the car may be traveling the latter movement of the rod will always be the same, and by this arrangement those parts that are most delicate and likely to break orbecome worn viz., the ratchet-wheel and the pawls-are protected from all undue strain or wear.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a station-indicator, a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a rod for operatingthe same on its downward movement, automatically-actuated mechanism for elevating the rod, a yielding check for controllingits downward movement, a hanger carrying a drag-catch adapted to engage a bumper on the road-bed, and a yielding pushbar connecting with the hanger and by interposed mechanism with the said rod, whereby motion is imparted to the latter.

2. In a station-indicator, a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a rod for operating the same, a hanger carrying a drag-catch designed to engage abumper on the road-bed, and ayielding push-bar connecting with the hanger and by interposed mechanism with the said rod, whereby motion is imparted to the latter.

3. In a station-indicator, a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a rod for operating the same on its downward movement, a hanger carrying a drag-catch designed to engage a bumper on the road-bed, and a telescopic push-bar connecting with the hanger and by interposed mechanism with the said rod, whereby motion is imparted to the latter.

4. In a station-indicator, a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a rod for operating the same, a hanger carrying a drag-catch designed to engage a bumper on the road-bed, a yielding push-bar connecting with the hanger and by interposed mechanism with the said rod to elevate the same, and a yielding check for controlling the downward movement of the rod.

5. In a station-indicator, a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a pivoted hanger located beneath the car and carrying a drag-catch, abell-crank lever, a rod, one end of which operates the said device and the other end engages the said lever, and a yielding push-bar connecting the hanger and the bell-crank lever.

G. In a station-indicator, a box or casing containing a suitable card-displaying device, a rod for opcratin g said deviceby its downward movement, mechanism for elevating the rod automatically, and a yielding check for controlling the downward movement of the rod, said check comprising a lever pivoted to the rod, a cylinder, a piston-rod connecting with the lever, and a spring, also connecting with the lever and exerting power in the direction opposite that exerted by the elevating mechanism.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM S. DILLON.

Witnesses:

J on MOLEOD, O. F. PAXTON. 

